I'm not sure if you heard, but my studio, my *first* studio, EA Chicago, bit the dust last week. And it bit the dust without warning.

But don't panic! While heartbreaking and shocking, all hope is not lost. In fact, it looks as though things should be working themselves out quite nicely here in the short term. It just sucks to know that I will probably never work with the same group of talented, hard-working, wonderful people that I have worked with for the last year. At least not all at the same time. This was my family.

So here I am again. And I come with gifts.

Over the last month since I got a new PC (the last one died promptly after I unpacked it from the box after I moved), I have been working on little random digital sketches.

I start with a 100x200 pixel thumbnail. For whatever reason, working that small allows me to loosen up a little and concentrate more on value and shapes. When I get something that I like, I then create the "Hd" version, which I draw directly on top of an up-rezzed (how do you spell that?) version of the original thumbnail.

The two I am posting are "Zombie Lurking in the Woods" and "Mario: A Portrait", which each took a couple of hours to create. The idea is to keep busy and keep those sweet creative juices flowing.

Beyond that, If I need to start making new 3d stuff for a demo reel, at least I am keeping myself loose.